Law

Liberty, bankruptcy and death at the High Court

Article Abstract:

The US Supreme Court has ruled on finality in criminal and civil proceedings. In a criminal case, Coleman v. Thompson, the court ruled that finality in criminal claims is of high-enough value to justify denying a habeas claim filed three days late. In Pioneer Investment Services v. Brunswick Associates, , the civil case, the filing of a claim almost a month late was deemed to be excusable neglect. The results in these two cases indicate that assumptions regarding the primacy of civil rights may not be warranted.

Calif. court gives big win to policyholders

Article Abstract:

The California Court of Appeal has ruled that Montrose Chemical Corp can sue Admiral Insurance Co for defense costs in a toxic waste dumping which predates its policy with Admiral by 35 years. The Feb 27, 1992 opinion states that a continuous or progressive injury or damage through successive policy periods is covered for all periods. The broad ruling faces a decertification attempt by amici of Admiral.

Archiving documents; court administrators need a standard that will last

Article Abstract:

The pros and cons of two alternatives for electronic document filing are discussed, portable document format (PDF) designed especially for long-term archiving, and extensible markup language (XML). Attempts to create a standard for archived documents are discussed.